umbra nihili

                
                             Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth,
                                                            the egg of the phoenix.
                                                                              Christina Baldwin

                                                                              listening to:
                                                                                     Aeone,
                                                    Umbra Nihili (without shadow) 

                                                                                                  dusk

                
                                   In the midst of winter, I found there was,
                                               within me, an invincible summer.
                                                                                  Albert Camus

                                                                               listening to:
                                                                      Angels of Venice,
                                                                                 Persentio 

The advent of the new year has always been one of the most important
holidays for me. In my youth, it was a time of re-assessment and renewal;
a time to look forward with eager anticipation; to dream about what might
lie waiting just around the corner. The future held so much promise...
anything was possible.
   But with adulthood came sorrow, each new year bringing new, mixed
with the lingering pain of old. And the worst always seemed to arrive with
the holiday season. This year has proved no exception. And yet...
scattered among the sadness were moments of genuine joy, moments
of true discovery and delight, and something more.
   Today, a small miracle happened...I discoverd that sweet sense of hope
rising to the surface once again...tentative, yes, but there, and oh so
welcomed. The coming year may hold new grief; it likely will. But perhaps
it will also bring great joy, enough to carry me through to the end and
beyond.
   Hope. It's a beautiful thing.

                                                                                                   ***

                
                               My dear Sir, take any road, you can't go amiss.
                                      The whole state is one vast insane asylum.
                                                                                 James L. Petigru

                           Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
                                                       William Shakespeare, Hamlet ii:ii

                                                                               listening to:
                                                        Trans-Siberian Orchestra
                                                        Christmas Eve in Sarajevo  I've found the perfect—and I mean perfect—antidote to my holiday
grays. Yes. I've discovered the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. And I'm
in love. I kid thee not. As Charles Hodgkins (of RealMusic) so eloquently
puts it:

When you stop and think about it, melodic Metal guitar,
orchestras and Christmas music are a match made in
hesher heaven. Trans-Siberian Orchestra are like having
Yngwie's hellhounds scare the Philharmonic into sounding
like the Mannheim Steamroller.

If for no other reason than the experience, I encourage you to download
Christmas Eve in Sarajevo or Wizards in Winter (album version). It's funky,
weird, and rather wonderfully feral Christmas music. Perfect for releasing
the holiday beast within.